Thanks, man. I am a huge champion for the brand when out gigging. We play a variety of markets around FL, and we're looking at hitting southern GA and AL too in the next few months. Doing an original set at 45-60 minutes allows us to mingle and shoot the breeze with a lot of people at the venues. Inevitably I always get a chance to show off the guitars and talk about why I dig them so much.
You'd be surprised at how many people still have NO idea about the brand, or if they have they still have never seen one in person. Girls are instantly drawn to them because they are "pretty". Players are never quite sure if the guitar are "real" or Chinese knock-offs. They are intrigued by the instrument but are often pre-biased based on internet/forum trash talk. It's usually something to the effect of, "Those guitars sound funny" or "Man, those things are just art....sound-wise they suck." Sometimes you get a guy that seems a bit more experienced that says something like, "It's like a Les Paul that sounds thin" or "It's a jack-of-all-trades, but doesn't nail any tone right." This invariably gets followed up with, "WHY do you play those?" or "What convinced you they sound good?"
There is never really the time to totally get into it, so usually I focus on feel and the pickups/clarity. Only one of my guitars doesn't have stock pickups - and that is just because PRS doesn't make a gold covered 57/08. So when talking about the stock guitars I will talk about the scale length and neck profile. I will mention I like a fatter neck and that the wide/fat and pattern necks have the right girth I like. I will mention that I played a Jackson PC-1 for 16 years and that has a HUGE neck. When it comes to the scale length, dudes are confused when I mention 25". They don't have a frame of reference. Instantly I am asked WHY did PRS chose a non-standard scale. I laugh and say they gotta ask Paul. I will tell them that it's not ONLY PRS that has it. Danelectro had a 25" scale. I will talk about Fender Jaguars, Duo Sonics and Mustangs having shorter scales and how people don't mind. I'll get asked what I played before. When I say Jackson they are shocked. I bring it back to scale length by saying that while the Jackson has a Fender scale, it also has the Floyd Rose and when you bend strings with the Floyd your bridge tilts forward, making the bend easier. I equate that to how a 25" scale feels - like bending with a Floyd. Metal guys or players with Floyds INSTANTLY get it. The Gibson and Fender guys, not so much - it always takes an extra step. With the Gibson guys I'll mention that when I would be playing my SG onstage there would be nights where maybe I had a drink too many before getting onstage and I would always OVER-bend on the B and high E string. The scale was TOO easy to play. With the PRS it's like playing the Gibson with a string gauge .01 (or whatever) higher than you use without sacrificing the feel of the strings you are used to using. That seems to make sense to them. With Fender guys it's the hardest. The 25.5" scale seems to be the most common, and to most players, the best. Fender guys take more convincing that the 25" scale isn't a PRS "gimmick to be different". What I usually start with is how, until you are warmed up, bending notes can take slight more effort - especially if using 11 or 12 gauge strings. I'll mention playing a tele and how it's an amazing instrument, but it can be really unforgiving if you are having a bad night. Bends can be rough, slurring notes can be difficult, etc. They usually counter with, "Well, that's lack of technique!!" I have to smile and go the extra step. Sometimes I'll let the player try the guitar for a couple minutes unplugged. After trying it out they are surprised at the ease of bending, but are often annoyed that they miss frets, etc. From there we talk about getting used to the guitar. Some guys are open to it, some are right frustrated and change the subject, saying "It's a nice guitar, but not for me." At that point you smile and they either walk away or talk about something else. The guys that are open to discussing further want to know how I got used to it. I say it was simple - I played the guitar for a couple hours. We have a laugh and then they ask if I switch around a lot. I tell them, "Not anymore - these guitars felt so right that I sold all the others." But, I also mention that before doing that I did switch back and forth between a Gretsch, PRS, and a tele and that it only took a minute or so to get used to it. They seem to accept that.
As far as the sound? That's easy. I tell them that I 100% agree about PRS sound "weird" and "wrong" with the old models. That usually shocks people. We laugh. It's always followed with, "What changed?" I mention the body thickness changing when the McCarty came out. I mention the longer heel (which sometimes turns into a debate resulting in letting somebody actually TRY the guitar and feel the heel vs. upper fret access). I talk about PRS moving to lower output pickups. Here is where I get a perplexing look. My band could be considered "classic metal" - basically pre-thrash "metal". I play with a very thick, heavily driven sound that is still clear enough to allow open chords to ring fairly clear. I have to explain that my sound comes more from the amp than the pickups. I'll talk about how when you have a lower output pickup can use your amp's gain and volume more effectively because you are sending a cleaner signal to the preamp. I'll mention that with the modern amps available they often have 5 to 7 tube gain stages in the preamp vs. the 80s when you had 3 gain stages. The lower the gain stages the more you want your pickup to hammer the first stage. That with an amp that has seven stages of gain when you hammer it with an active or high gain pickup you are creating a recipe for mud...meaning you have to over EQ or add extra processing to your sound to compensate. With PRS moving to more balanced, lower output pickups it enabled me to be able have a "cleaner" overdriven tone that improved my technique and helped me sound clearer onstage. People will usually nod at the logic even if they don't agree 100%. This is when I am asked what pickup did I use before in my Jacksons. "The Seymour Duncan JB lowered about as far as I could get it, or before that - the DiMarzio PAF Pro in the 80s."
When asked how this caused the guitar to sound different than the old ones, I mention that the HFS stands for "hot, fat, screams" and that is EXACTLY what it was. I will also mention that with the thinner body and overall tone of those pickups sometimes the PRS came across as having a weird midrange. That was always my problem - my Rivera amps were mid heavy to begin with and the HFS clashed HARD with the tonal make up of the amp. With Paul making more balanced pickups with the changes to the body and neck I found the guitar to be more sonically pleasing.
People find it VERY interesting and it makes them MUCH more curious to try the guitar out on their own. DO they convert? Beats me, but it is fun having the conversations because in the field the PRS seems to be a love or LOATHE guitar. People seem to have their mind made up without ever playing one.